


Two Touched-Starved Fools

by sky_squido



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Legend being a fool, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), and here i am being fluffy again, but gosh darn it these boys deserve love, hand holding, he does not have the braincell, i promised you all angst, i'm getting soft, it's literally just leg and rule holding hands, look at me, that's the fic, we can't have this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24994528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sky_squido/pseuds/sky_squido
Summary: Or: Five Times Hyrule Grabbed Legend's Hand (And One Time Legend Grabbed Hyrule's Instead)Warning for heart-stopping fluff.
Relationships: Hyrule & Legend (Linked Universe)
Comments: 57
Kudos: 330





	Two Touched-Starved Fools

**Author's Note:**

> So this exists now. It's not like I wanted to get anything done today nope it's 3am and here I am uploading this... this.
> 
> "Don't worry, my next fic will be hard angst." Ahahahaha oops my hand slipped. I still have the idea but who knows if I'll ever actually write it

**Prologue:**

Hyrule glanced worriedly around the campsite but couldn't quite discern why he felt so on edge. The day had been fine, really rather good, actually, but he still felt a... what was it, loneliness? Nothing like what he felt while on his journey, no, not the bone-crushing solitude of being completely and utterly Alone, but it still didn't feel quite... right. Don't get him wrong, he loved the Links, all of them with all of his heart. But was it wrong to want to be closer? How could he even get closer to them than he already was? They spent all their time together. They had so much camaraderie—it was amazing. So why did he still feel so off?

Wild was making dinner and most of the group was setting up their bedrolls or doing chores except for Hyrule, Legend, and Sky. They'd done the hardest chores last night so, as per the rotation, they got the night off. They chose to spend it around the campfire, Wild teasing Legend for having seen and done seemingly everything but still somehow having no idea what a radish was. 

"They just don't have them where I'm from!"

"Really?  _ Radishes _ ?"

Sky laughed at that despite not knowing what a radish was himself (which was probably why he was laughing—to hide his ignorance). He went a little overboard with the display, though, leaning over onto Hyrule dramatically as he continued to chuckle.

It was like a bolt of electricity shot through Hyrule at Sky's touch. He tensed for a moment, but didn't think Sky noticed. It was warm, though. Really warm. Not just on his skin, but in that part of his heart that longed for a deeper connection. This—touching—was this  _ allowed _ ? Sky didn't seem to think anything of it and Wild and Legend just looked on in amusement. Was this  _ okay _ ? He didn't want it to stop. Sky seemed to collect himself, making that sighing noise that tends to follow laughter, and straightened up. Hyrule felt a pang of worry that Sky would pull away completely, but instead, the caped hero leaned casually against Hyrule's side, allowing his warmth to seep into Hyrule’s bones.

Unbeknownst to Hyrule, Sky had noticed his flinch and recognized it for what it was: the poor kid was touch-starved. Sky himself had experienced something similar when going from the tight-knit, loving, physically affectionate community of Skyloft to an almost completely uninhabited landscape in the blink of an eye and with only a sword for company. He had flinched the exact same way the first time Sun touched him after his journey. He eyed the brunet who was greedily leaning into his side. Yeah, Sky could get used to this, too.

Legend had shot a glare over at the guffawing Sky, but upon seeing the small pleased smile that crept onto Hyrule's face when the older hero was sprawled over his lap and the way the tension left his shoulders when Sky leaned casually into his side, Legend knew that what had been eating Hyrule recently was somehow tied to touch. Legend had tried to spark conversations and stay with him, but Hyrule had still seemed a tad melancholy and Legend wanted to do  _ more _ but didn't know what that would be. Luckily for him, Sky had come along and realized the same thing. Hyrule really enjoyed touch. Heck, the kid was basking in it, drinking it up like a cat in the sunshine. Yes, clearly, the answer was to touch Hyrule more. That shouldn't be too hard.

* * *

Dear Hylia, was this awkward. How do you even touch people? Sky made it look so  _ easy _ , so  _ natural _ . He just leaned over him. That’s it. Somehow, when Legend strategically positioned himself next to Hyrule at dinner, he couldn't bring himself to press his side into Hyrule's like Sky's had. This was the answer. This would help Hyrule. So why couldn't he do it, dammit! The meal passed with Legend only "accidentally" bumping his elbow into Hyrule's side once or twice before realizing it didn't have the intended effect. That night, he watched Hyrule slide his sleeping bag closer to Sky's—and by extension farther from Legend's—and watched through one eye as his successor slowly scooted closer and closer to Sky until he was evidently satisfied and sunk into a peaceful sleep. Legend felt a writhing flame of— _ not jealously not jealousy it's  _ not _ if Hyrule wants to cuddle with Sky then let him I mean Sky's basically everyone's mom anyway so of course it's only natural I'm not actually jealous dammit I'm jealous aren’t I why can't  _ I _ be the one helping Hyrule. _

Legend ardently refused to entertain the idea that he himself might perhaps also be touched starved.

* * *

He woke up the next morning to Hyrule certifiably bundled up against Sky's side. The older hero had either woken up or he hadn’t completely gone to sleep at first because his sailcloth was wrapped securely around Hyrule, who was pressed into his side. The traveller was curled up, his hands close to his chest, but Sky had one arm flung lazily over him, further securing the sailcloth in place. Curse Sky and his easy cuddles. 

That morning, as they were setting out on the trail, Legend was sure to commandeer Hyrule before he could start walking with Sky. He made brief eye contact with Sky, purely by accident, though he wasn't entirely sure if he should be aggravated or grateful by Sky's knowing smile and wink as the Chosen Hero told Hyrule that he had something he meant to ask Twilight but he'd be sure to catch up afterwards. Hyrule nodded, his face falling slightly, but it returned to a pleasant expression at the prospect of walking with Legend. Legend resolved to make this the best walk in the history of Hyrule.

Maybe it was hard to initiate contact with Hyrule out of love and care—not surprising considering Legend considered himself a pretty terrible person—but if he was doing it to spite Sky, then maybe he could manage.

* * *

**One:**

They walked in a bit of an awkward silence, Legend trying to debate how exactly to initiate contact. He couldn't press his shoulder into Hyrule's—they were walking and he'd just end up shoving him off the path—and he didn't really know what else to do. How did other people touch while walking? His mind involuntarily flashed to crashing waves and a soft voice, the kind of voice that you can hear the music in even when it’s only speaking, telling him it wanted to know everything about him. Their fingers had been intertwined as they walked to Animal Village. No, his mind snapped itself out of its reverie. He was  _ not _ going to hold hands with Hyrule. But dammit this was awkward and Hyrule was totally missing Sky and the latter had mentioned he'd come back later anyway so he had to make his move or Hyrule might not want to hang out with him anymore. It was now or never.

"So 'Rule," he started, violently nonchalant.

Hyrule looked up, humming in response. It seemed like he had been lost in thought. Legend's mind suddenly decided to yeet everything it had been thinking into the endless abyss of panic and so—in a split-second decision—he resorted to what he was most familiar with.

"I've noticed you've been getting awfully  _ cuddly _ with Sky lately." Dammit, he really tried to say that playfully but he had no idea how it came out. Hyrule's shoulders tensed a bit at that. WAIT NO did Hyrule think he was shaming him? The last thing Legend needed to do was make Hyrule feel ashamed of needing touch! Then Hyrule would not only want to spend more time with Sky but also feel the need to start avoiding Legend. This was bad.

"You know, you're allowed to touch other people, too. I mean, you could even—”okay wow that just popped out without him intending to and it was sounding really good until he got to the part where he had to say the thing but jeez how does he even go about saying it and frick how long has he been thinking does Hyrule think he's nuts he just trailed off in the middle of a sentence what does Hyrule think he's implying—

"Wait," Hyrule's voice was so quiet that Legend would have missed it had not every fiber of his perceptive ability been zeroed in on him, "I thought that was just a Sky thing."

Okay this is the important part. You  _ need _ to convince him that it's okay to touch you.  _ Moment of truth moment of truth moment of truth. _

"Nope. You could even"— _ I hate my life I hate my life I hate my life I hate my life I hate _ —"hold my hand right now if you wanted to."

Hyrule stopped walking.

Legend's brain went into Absolute Overdrive™ and he, too, stopped in his tracks. 

"What? But you hate being touched."

Legend's brain suddenly stopped, like the roaring of stormy seas suddenly silenced by being cast beneath the waves. Did Hyrule really think that? Moreover, was it  _ true _ ? Legend supposed he did smack people's hands away whenever they got near, but that was only when they were trying to touch his stuff and everyone knew Legend hated having people touch his stuff. Of course he had tried to be closed off—he didn't want his heart broken again. Every meeting was followed by a parting and the closer you got, the more painful it ended up being—so Legend had avoided getting touched at all costs, at least in the beginning. Hyrule, of course had the initially infuriating ability to worm his way into anyone and everyone's heart without even realizing it. But now, Legend would be happy to be touched, especially by Hyrule. So wait, what should he say?

"Do I?"  _ Okay, Link, that's kind of crappy but I guess if you want him to elaborate, that's one way to do it. _ Legend subconsciously began furiously wiping his now sweaty palms on his tunic.

"I mean, that's the impression you gave but I suppose you know yourself better than I do."

Too quickly for Legend's addled brain—and admittedly a bit hurriedly on Hyrule's part—the brunet placed his palm in Legend's own, folding his fingers around to the back of his hand and hooking his thumb around Legend's own.

Legend's first thought was a prayer of gratitude to Hylia that he had wiped the sweat off his palms.

Hyrule started waking again, and Legend had no choice but to follow. He was suddenly hit with the notion that yeah he should really hold Hyrule's hand back and gently curled his fingers around in response, squeezing gently for a moment before returning to a comfortable position. Hyrule's hand was calloused and rough in a way unlike Legend's own, or even his uncle's, were. There was a different kind of softness to them, likely as a result of the magic that flowed through them so regularly. Legend's magic was always channeled through an item of some sort so he was unfamiliar with the effects of magic on one's hands. After a few moments, Hyrule began to gently swing their clasped hands between the two of them before he spoke again.

"So, I'm not exactly the best with social customs and cues and stuff—as you guys have probably realized by now—so um..." he took a small breath, "clearly I'm unfamiliar with how... touching people works. I mean from like a social aspect? In my Hyrule, we do whatever we have to to survive. Touching isn't really a thing that we think about. In order to heal my kingdom, I'd like to know what the customs and standards regarding touch were before everything kind of fell apart."

"Oh, well I'm sure every Hyrule has its own standards regarding that kind of stuff," Legend dodged, trying to get his brain working properly again. Okay, properly was a strong word. Vaguely functioning.

"Which is why I asked about the one before me." Hyrule glanced at Legend hopefully.

Legend could not in good faith tell Hyrule that in his Hyrule, hand-holding was nearly always a sign of romantic affection. He supposed it was familial, too, between parents and kids, but siblings didn't really hold hands with each other so it wasn't quite applicable to the two of them. If he told Hyrule the truth, then he might not want to hold hands with Legend anymore, thinking it weird. Hell,  _ Legend _ thought it was weird, but he was really really enjoying this and didn’t want to stop. After all, Legend decided, he was a terrible, selfish person. Clearly, the only logical course of action was to blatantly lie to Hyrule's face, consequences be damned.

"In my Hyrule, hand holding is a pretty common thing. I mean, you only really do it to people you know, so like not total strangers, but I mean, friends, family, partners, the whole shebang. You can hold hands really any time you walk anywhere or do anything together."—okay wow this was a lot of lying. It was a good thing Legend was already a terrible person because otherwise this would be the last straw. But now he was rambling about hand holding and couldn't quite bring himself to stop himself. "If you squeeze 'em, it's a way to, like, comfort someone without needing to say anything. Squeezing someone's hand when they need it the most can be a really powerful gesture." Okay he really needs to stop before Hylia smites him for lying to the sweetest person on this Earth.

Hyrule nodded in understanding, but confusion still colored his expression.

"So then why hadn't you held hands with anyone before this?"

Oh hell, that was a good question and a major hole in his story. Actually, his story kind of sucked because if Hyrule believed this, then he might tell the others and they all might start holding Legend's hands at random times and that would be weird because as far as his social subconscious was concerned, hand-holding was still kind of intimate but they would think they were just being polite. 

"Oh, well, I didn't know if it was a thing in anyone else's Hyrules, I mean I didn't see them doing it, so I figured it was just a me thing."

" _ You _ ? Courteous of other people's boundaries and trying to respect their customs?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"I distinctly remember you saying 'f*ck society, I don't have to wear pants if I don't want to.' "

"That's different!"

"Pray tell, how, exactly, is that different?"

"Because it's a personal choice! I'm not forcing anyone else to adopt my pants-wearing customs! Y'all can wear pants and you won't see me giving you flack for it, but in order to hold hands, you need someone else to do it with."

Hyrule seemed to accept this explanation, much to Legend's relief. The rest of their walk continued comfortably, their hands gradually shifting through different grips to avoid cramping or getting sweaty spots as Legend made up various cuddle customs that were basically just his personal preferences. He made sure to stress that everyone had their own comfort levels and it was a common courtesy to make sure an action was okay before trying it. Some people didn't like hugs and it was considered rude to hug without either asking or providing adequate warning via body language and accepting any body language response. Everyone had their own comfort levels, but his were pretty standard, he was sure to mention. He's  _ not soft _ , dammit. This is _normal_.

* * *

Sky turned a corner in the trail and smiled softly to himself, elbowing Twilight in the side gently and pointing to where Legend's hand was comfortably holding Hyrule's. Twilight's face scrunched up in confusion before Sky slowed their pace to get out of earshot and explained the hilarity he had been quietly witnessing. The two shared a good laugh at Legend's obvious jealousy, but Twilight picked up Sky's subtle message that touch should probably be given more freely in their group. Back pats and high fives were common, but softer kinds of touch were largely absent from their group—and as he learned from Uli in Ordon, casual touch could do wonders for kids. He was always happy to hold the kids' hands whenever they went places, but he had refrained from doing so in this group. They all always seemed so  _ strong _ . But again, he heard Uli's voice in his head reminding him that touch doesn't mean you're weak and even the strongest knight in Hyrule needed to be touched sometimes. He responded by amicably tossing his arm around Sky's shoulders, to which Sky laughed easily.

* * *

Hyrule was a lot more comfortable with hand-holding than Legend was, though he supposed that was his own fault for telling him it was normal in his world. But of course, Legend was a glutton for punishment and being doomed to hold hands with Hyrule might be a sentence he could conceivably bear.

The embarrassment of being seen by the other Links, though. That, he wasn't so sure about

* * *

**Two:**

Legend had let go of Hyrule's hand "for a moment" to "grab something from his pouch" as they neared the campsite, successfully hiding what he’d been doing from the Links already there, namely Warriors, Time, and Four. He had started to set up his bedroll, making sure to keep his hands Very Busy so they Cannot Be Held Right Now. 

"Legend and Hyrule. You were off last night so that means you’re on firewood duty tonight. It looks like it's gonna be cold tonight so you boys are going to want to get started sooner rather than later."

"Alright!" Hyrule chirped, working his way over to Legend's sleeping bag where he loitered expectantly. After Legend stood up and brushed the dirt off his tunic, Hyrule grabbed Legend's hand again, casually swinging it between them as they walked towards the woods, Legend blushing furiously and unsure of what to do with himself.

A few moments of silence passed through the camp.

"Hold on, did they just—"

"Hmm?" Time looked up in response to Warriors' voice, that half-lidded-raised-eyebrow face he loved so much clearly plastered on his features.

"Were they  _ holding hands _ ?"

"That sure is what it looked like."

Four, sensing the game Time was playing and loving every minute of it, nodded in agreement.

"Should we be worried?"

"Why would we?" Time asked, face perfectly straight and seemingly genuinely confused.

"Doesn't holding hands mean... mean..."

"The social customs in your Hyrule must be very different from ours," Four continued, his Intelligent Voice™ in full effect. He held back a smile at Warriors' misfortune to be stuck with the two best liars in the group at a time like this. "What is and isn't acceptable as well as the associated connotations of a given gesture vary greatly between cultures." He was mostly talking about the Picori versus the Hylians, but it was a mistake to assume he wasn't extremely well-read. "Everything from the distance you stand from someone while you talk to them to how much food you leave on your plate after a meal has varying cultural significance. It seems that your Hyrule is an outlier. Though, pray tell, what  _ is _ the significance of hand-holding in your time, if you'll pardon my curiosity."

Warriors nodded, taking in the new information with a focused and intrigued expression. It took every shred of determination and self-control in Time’s being to prevent himself from cracking up. How was Four so good at this? He was putting even Time to shame. But in all seriousness, he knew he had nothing to worry about as far as Legend and Hyrule were concerned. He was sure there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for their behavior. Of course, he couldn't resist a good teasing. Especially on Warriors, who would probably actually  _ internalize _ the information and bring it up again later.

"It generally signifies a romantic interest," Warriors explained, trying to sound somewhat academic.

Four and Time, despite anticipating this answer, feigned surprise and interest extremely well. They were both rather skilled at pretending information they already knew was new, Time from him time spent in Termina and Four from his many years spent covering for his ability to be multiple places at once. 

"No wonder you were concerned," Time nodded gravely. "But in my Hyrule, hand holding is a pretty casual gesture that's often exchanged between friends as well as family and lovers." Was he lying? Time was raised by a tree so he determined that he could probably make up whatever social customs he wanted. The Kokiri didn't touch each other as often as Hylians did, and it took him years to discover that his subconscious had been longing for it. No, it couldn't hurt to increase the general amount of touch exchanged in their group, he decided.

"Yeah, same in my Hyrule," Four added, not technically lying as the minish were rather touchy-feely. So much so that Four had been initially uncomfortable with it but over time, he grew to appreciate it and when he was Split, his parts were always holding hands and leaning all over each other. Considering he didn't interact with the general public much, as far as he was concerned, touching  _ was _ the norm.

Warriors, Time, and Four's conversation had gradually shifted to other topics by the time the remaining Links reached the campsite—their arrival being delayed by needing to extract Wild from a particularly nasty thornbush and then needing to extract the particularly nasty thorns from Wild himself. Eventually, Legend and Hyrule returned with the firewood, each hero carrying a large bundle in each hand and thankfully (for Legend, anyway) unable to hold hands. Warriors' eyes followed Legend for a moment before he politely averted his gaze. Who was he to judge Legend by his social customs? It was his own fault for not being conscious of the differences in their cultures. He shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. It weirded Legend out, though. He had been expecting teasing from Warriors and a knowing smirk from Time but instead, they all acted completely natural. Maybe they  _ hadn't _ seen him, then. But then why was Warriors glancing over at him as if he wanted to ask him something? Legend couldn't seem to figure out what was going on. Until, that is, they were finishing up dinner and Warriors posed a question to the group:

"I've just recently been informed that certain gestures have very different meanings and connotations that vary by location and time period. I think that it would be best, in order to avoid confusion, that we all discuss what is standard in each of our eras. The last thing we want to do is send mixed signals to each other."

Wind cocked his head, confused. "That hasn't been a problem, yet. Everything's been pretty universal."

Wind had a point. But still, the last thing Warriors wanted was to have a misunderstanding like earlier.

"Yeah, let's just address them as they come up," Legend said a smidge too hastily, idly waving his hand in an attempt to exude an aura of laziness.

Warriors looked to Four, hoping for him to display his usual curiosity, but instead he just shrugged. Odd.

* * *

**Three:**

The rest of the night passed pretty uneventfully and Legend was pleased to see Hyrule's sleeping bag positioned very close to his own. He settled into his bedroll, letting his eyes drift shut until he was startled by a finger tapping his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Hyrule's own hazel eyes staring back at him questioningly. He wiggled his fingers and Legend let a smile creep onto his face as he extracted a hand from his sleeping bag and rested it in Hyrule's own. Hyrule squeezed. Legend squeezed back.

The nightmares didn't bother him that night.

Hyrule opened his eyes to the color of straw. Blinking confusedly, he registered the texture of hair tickling his nose and cheeks. Pulling away minutely, he could make out Legend, holding Hyrule's hand in both of his and clutching it close to his chest. He had curled around it, which incidentally placed his hair directly in Hyrule's face. Not that he cared. In fact, Hyrule figured he could go back to sleep for a few more minutes.

* * *

Wild, standing up from his position as third watch to get started on the breakfast, spotted the two heroes cuddled up together. Twilight had asked him not to tease Legend about it, but who was to stop him from snapping a quick picture? Nobody needed to see it, after all. As the sun continued to rise and the camp began to stir, Legend remained fast asleep. Wild absently wondered when the last time Legend had gotten a full night's sleep was. Hyrule had been awake for some time, but refused to move from his position until Legend woke up, though he wasn't above using his free hand to give Legend bunny ears when Wind pulled out his pictobox.

* * *

Legend's eyes slid lazily opening, his eyelashes flickering in response to the sunlight. He could vaguely make out voices, though the sounds were largely meaningless to his brain that still clung to the blissful unawareness of sleep. 

"We have to wake him eventually."

"Yeah, but we're not leaving camp just yet." 

"You still gotta eat breakfast, 'Rule." 

"I know. Pass me the bowl. I've got one free hand." 

"Has Legend been sleeping alright? He must be exhausted to have slept this long."

"No idea."

"Well, I guess it's good that we let him sleep, then."

"Yeah. And we know for sure he's not faking out of laziness. Legend wouldn't be caught dead cuddling Hyrule like that."

"Hey! I happen to know that Legend likes cuddling. He says they do it all the time in his Hyrule."

".... Really?  _ Legend _ ?"

"That was my reaction, too. But just look at him. He looks so peaceful. The poor guy really does need to be touched more."

There wasn't a response to that that Legend could hear, not that he understood any of what did enter his ears. He faded in and out of consciousness for a while more before actually registering what he saw. Hyrule lay on his side, watching Legend with the softest,  _ fondest _ expression that Legend had ever seen. In fact, it was the same one that Legend generally reserved for when he was watching Hyrule sleep. The traveler hero had a bowl of porridge sitting on the ground next to him, the sweet smell of cinnamon suddenly registering to Legend, but he was eating it one-handed. Where was his other hand? Legend blearily found Hyrule’s shoulder and worked his eyes down to his arm until he looked down and spotted Hyrule's hand, clutched in both of his own. Ah. There it is.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. You almost missed breakfast."

Legend felt a blush smack him in the face as he finally realized what, exactly, was going on. He had cuddled Hyrule in his sleep, cradling his hand close to his chest and... great. The entire camp was up. They'd probably all seen him and laughed at him and he was going to get teased about this for the rest of his life, wasn't he. Giving Hyrule his arm back, Legend untangled himself, making as if to get up and head to the fire before seeing a scarred hand place a bowl of porridge in front of him. He looked up and Wild smiled warmly back at him. No gloating, no pictures on his sheikah slate, no nothing. He glanced over to where Warriors was... having a casual conversation with Time about where they would be headed to next. What in the world happened when he was asleep? Was this an elaborate practical joke?

* * *

**Four:**

He finished his breakfast bundled up in his toasty bedroll, enjoying a companionable silence with Hyrule. The rest of the morning occurred in a similarly pleasant, surprising, and odd fashion. They continued with their routine and set out. Hyrule stuck with Legend again, truly smiling this time and Legend held out his hand, returning Hyrule’s grin. The fluffy-haired hero happily accepted Legend’s silent offer and clasped the blonde’s hand in his own, starting down the trail with a spring in his step. Legend would be lying if he said he wasn't starting to really enjoy it and actually began to dread the times when Hyrule let go of his hand in order to do something, though they were thankfully infrequent. 

His pleasant walk was interrupted by a " **_HEYYY!_ ** " in a voice he didn't recognize. Oh no. This was it. This was when someone broke it to Hyrule that hand holding was for couples only and he'd never be able to walk hand in hand with his best friend ever again. He turned around, shock and terror clear on his face, to reveal... a postman. Twilight's postman. Delivering Wind's mail. In Wild's Hyrule. All inter-dimensional wackiness aside, Legend couldn't stop his mind from racing at the thought that the postman might make a comment.

The postman did no such thing, seemingly vanishing into thin air the second the parcel was delivered to a bewildered Wind, but Legend couldn't help but worry that someone would speak up and shatter the illusion. A soft pressure on his palm jarred him from his thoughts. Hyrule was squeezing his hand where it was clasped in his own. Looking up, Legend could see the hero smiling encouragingly, not sure what the problem was, but still clearly willing to offer whatever comfort he could. Dear Hylia, what did Legend do to deserve this kid. Was it that time he saved the world? No, that still wasn’t enough to warrant having Hyrule in his life. The kid was an absolute angel. Legend didn't know where he’d be without him. He squeezed back, smiling softly. Maybe he shouldn't have lied to Hyrule before, but look how happy the kid was. He even swung their hands between them when he was extra happy. How cute was that! It was while Legend was wrapped up in his own thoughts, unfortunately, that the ambush happened.

* * *

**Five:**

Maybe it was his fault because he'd zoned out or gotten too comfortable or chose to walk farther from the rest of the group for privacy or had dared to think Hylia had a shred of good in her or maybe something else entirely but whatever the reason, he knew it was his fault.

Which is why he was honestly pretty okay with the shattered bones that were at the moment pretending to be his arm, but maybe that was the head wound speaking. Quite frankly, he deserved this. Speaking of things he was honestly pretty okay with, though, he was also very grateful for their hand-holding habit as it had allowed Hyrule to pull Legend mostly out of the way of the moblin's descending club, resulting in it only grazing his head before hitting his arm. 

Hyrule was considerably less okay with these things, mostly because he had a better handle on what was actually going on. He’d spotted motion in the corner of his eye, but Legend had been too lost in thought to notice. Acting purely on instinct, Hyrule had tugged their clasped hands away from what he now could see was a moblin, but he wasn’t fast enough. The club that would have swiped Legend’s head clean off instead cut down on a diagonal, connecting with his temple—the softest part of the skull—and shattering the arm that had been outstretched as the hero tried to catch his balance. 

Legend had crumpled to the ground then, unresponsive, his fingers slipping out of Hyrule’s own. 

This moblin had interrupted his lovely hand-holding with Legend. 

That was unacceptable.

Hyrule drew his sword, tearing it from its sheath and not bothering to throttle the flames that burst from the metal. Generally, Hyrule only let a slight shimmer of fire heat his blade when he fought, but dammit Legend was laying on the ground and he couldn't see the other Links so he figured he was allowed to go a little overboard. His very much on fire sword was swiftly buried in the moblin's neck as Hyrule whistled to call for the other Links. They rushed to the scene within seconds, already drawn by the sounds of fighting. More miscellaneous monsters were drawn by the din as well, but the heroes made quick work of them. As the other seven Links searched the forest for any more monsters, Hyrule rushed to Legend’s side.

“Legend! Are you okay?  _ Answer me! _ ” 

At the complete lack of an acknowledgement that he’d been heard, Hyrule positioned his ear above Legend’s mouth and placed two fingers on his neck to check his pulse. Both seemed steady and relatively strong, but Legend still wasn’t responding. He sat back worriedly and took Legend's hand gingerly in two of his own, channeling healing energy up through his arm.

He was shocked by a gentle but firm squeeze on his hand that sent warmth coursing up through his body. He smiled and squeezed back. Legend would be fine.

One unanimous decision to camp in the nearest cave later—they'd just spent the last hour or two clearing out all the monsters in the area and it looked like it was about to rain soon—they began to head off to where Wild mentioned a dry cave was. Hyrule refused to let go of Legend's hand, "still needing to heal his arm," and so he stayed by Twilight’s side as the elder carried Legend to the cave. Hyrule never once released Legend’s hand, occasionally squeezing to see if he was okay, and always getting a squeeze in response.

* * *

**One more:**

They all got settled in, Legend laying down on his bedroll while Hyrule placed Legend's head into his lap to get a better look at his head wound. By the time he decided Legend didn't have a concussion and was sufficiently healed, the veteran hero seemed to be fast asleep. Hyrule grinned. Oh  _ no _ ,  _ whatever _ would he  _ do _ ? Legend was injured, so obviously Hyrule had to stay with him and he couldn't move because he might jostle the sleeping hero. Clearly, staying put was the only valid option.

Hyrule's fingers twitched as he greedily eyed the blond and pink mess of hair gathered in his lap. He experimentally laid his hand on Legend's head and when the blond didn't hiss and bite him in response, he gently combed his fingers through Legend's hair. Hylia, it was soft. Like  _ really _ soft. Did Legend put stuff in it? Obviously he did  _ something _ to his hair—there was no way that that pink was natural—but Hyrule hadn't taken him for the kind of person to care about his hair texture, too. Either way, Hyrule found himself carding his fingers through Legend's hair and loving every second of it.

Some time passed, Hyrule happily running his fingers through Legend's hair, before everything went south.

A bolt of lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating the entire cave in an eerie, pale glow. The following crack of thunder was amplified tenfold by the cave’s walls and Legend bolted upright with a scream. He tried to pull himself to his feet to do Hylia-knows-what, but only ended up falling forward onto the floor of the cave, hyperventilating. Another flash of lightning lit the sky, revealing the terrified expression on Legend's face. He froze in fear before starting to shake again with the next boom of thunder, tears running down his face and every muscle in his body shivering with the strain of being so tense. 

"Legend! Are you—" before Hyrule could finish his thought, Legend's hand shot out and grabbed Hyrule's own, clasping it in an iron-tight grip. Hyrule squeezed back for a moment and Legend began to collect himself, taking deeper and slower breaths as Hyrule inched closer, pressing himself into Legend's side. The veteran collapsed into his warmth, steadying his breathing and loosening his grip ever so slightly. He squeezed Hyrule's hand. Hyrule squeezed back. Another bolt of lightning arced through the sky, but Legend was fully focused on Hyrule's hand, breathing too controlledly, but breathing all the same. He still flinched violently every time thunder boomed, and Hyrule’s heart broke for him. 

"There, there. I've got you. You're safe here"

Hyrule stared outside at the storm, absently wondering if he had a spell for that. He’d do anything to help ease Legend’s pain, but he didn’t have anything that would let him control the weather. He glanced curiously around at the others. 

"I can summon storms, but I don't know how to get rid of them," Time shrugged before eyeing the rain murderously.

"I can absorb lightning into the Master Sword but I have a feeling that's not exactly what we're looking to do here," Sky offered sadly, nervously running his hands along the blade's hilt.

"I bet if I took the Master Cycle and went  _ really _ far away, and then got a bunch of metal armor and the Thunder Helm, I could—" Wild looked around at 6 faces of stern disapproval and only one person—Wind—who seemed to be on board, and decided against finishing his thought "—sorry. I'll just go quietly sit in the corner and not worry anyone."

At that, Wind seemed to realize something, and moved towards the mouth of the cave. 

"I could change the wind direction to blow the storm away from us if I knew where the nearest patch of clear skies is."

At that suggestion, Wild quickly retracted his previous statement about quietly sitting in a corner and not worrying anyone and rushed out into the storm with a wink and a skip in his step before anyone could stop him.

A few minutes later, Wind's pendant flickered to life and he looked into it to see a rain-stained image of Wild atop a rather large evergreen tree. Atop his head was a strange golden helmet that covered his eyes and was studded with six green gems. 

"North-northeast!" he called, before a flash of white filled the screen along with a "SH*T!" and a terrible cracking noise that marked the end of the connection.

Four laughed, Twilight put his head in his hands, Legend flinched at the next crack of thunder, and Wind produced the Wind Waker from his pouch. He held it deftly in his fingers, bouncing it thrice experimentally before moving it up, left, and then right and watching as the wind direction suddenly shifted and the clouds began moving steadily away, the sounds of thunder growing quieter and quieter. Sun began to creep across the landscape and the whole world sparkled from the glimmering droplets of water clinging to every leaf and blade of grass.

After a few moments, Wild returned, sopping wet, covered in mud, down a sword, and grinning like a madman. Legend gradually stopped shaking, his breathing evened out to something natural, and his muscles began to relax. He never once, however, let go of Hyrule's hand.

And everyone was okay with that.


End file.
